Afraid of Changing
by weheartfinchel
Summary: Finn and Rachel have been the best of friends for as long as they can remember, but graduation is quickly approaching. After one special night, the two of them realize that there is something between them that is more than just friendship. Now they're running out of time. What does the future hold, and how can they adjust to their new feelings? Please R&R :)
1. Open Your Heart

**This is my first time writing a Finchel fanfic.. in fact, I made an entirely new account because that's all I can see myself posting for a while! This is based off of a tumblr roleplay (fnnhud & rachel-bberryss). I'm going to try and have a song for each chapter, just because I think that's fun, but we'll see about that. There is a LOT more to come, this is merely a slightly non-exciting introduction, so apologies for that. Regardless, tell me what you think! Please R&R :) - Lizzy**

_Open your heart to me, baby_  
_I hold the lock and you hold the key_  
_Open your heart to me, darling_  
_I'll give you love if you, you turn the key_

It was officially prom season. There were prom court posters taped over every square inch of McKinley High, and the excitement was almost tangible. Rachel leaned against her locker and rolled her eyes as girls lectured their dates, telling them exactly what shade of a yellow tie they had to buy to match their dress, or what their flowers had to look like. She would have been acting the same way, but she wasn't going to prom, not this year. This was an immense disappointment considering that she hadn't gone the year before, either. You could only buy a two-person ticket, meaning that you had to go with a date. Nobody had bothered to ask her to go to prom with them, and Rachel wasn't about to ask anybody, either. Finn saved her from her disappointment by coming up to her with a book in his hand.

"You'll be happy to know that this was the last Ancient Egypt book left in the library, and I got it just for you. Pretty sure I pushed some people out of the way to get it." Rachel couldn't help but laugh. The entire grade had just been assigned an ancient culture research paper, and Rachel had her heart set on writing about Egypt.

"Ah, my knight in shining armor!" She joked. "Thanks," She said, a smile on her face. She happily took the book from his hands and put it in her locker. Finn always knew just what to say to make Rachel feel better. They'd been best friends for as long as they could remember. In fact, they'd never gone more than a week without seeing each other, and they didn't want to try it. "Ready?" Rachel asked, closing her locker and draping her schoolbag over one shoulder. Finn nodded, and they made their way out to the parking lot.

A lot of people at school made fun of their friendship, and Rachel liked to think that it was because they were jealous. Finn thought that it was because they didn't understand it. It hadn't taken long for the two of them to get over the stares and to ignore the assumptions that they were dating, they were just used to it by now. As they got into his car, the air fell into a comfortable silence.

"Thank God that's over," Finn sighed as they pulled out of the parking lot. "I'd much rather stay at home than see those stupid prom court posters everywhere. I practically had to peel one off of my locker today."

Rachel rolled her eyes and nodded. "I know, it's ridiculous." She snorted, looking out the window as he drove. "Prom can be sweet and special, but only for so long, you know?" Finn nodded.

"It's just like every other dance that everyone goes to, it's just that you need to spend ten times the amount of money you normally would. I mean, it's senior prom, and it's important I guess, but… whatever." He shrugged. He didn't know how to explain it. "Do you know what I mean?"

"Exactly!" Rachel said, nodding her head. "It's just like homecoming, only more people show up drunk." Finn laughed.

"Yeah, totally." They fell into quietness again, and Rachel closed her eyes, letting her head fall against her seat. "Hey... are you going? Like, to prom?" Keeping her eyes closed, Rachel laughed sadly.

"As if someone would ask me to go with them. No, I'm not going." Rachel opened her eyes and raised her eyebrows, looking over to him. "Are _you_ planning on going?"

"I haven't decided yet." Finn said. He was quiet for a while after that. "Do you maybe want to go with me?"

"You want to go together? Like, you and me?" Rachel couldn't help but let a huge smile spread out onto her face. "Why didn't I think of that? That's such a great idea!" She squealed, hitting Finn on the shoulder.

"Why not? It'll be fun, I promise." He said encouragingly.

"Oh, it'll be _so_ fun!" Rachel sat up a bit, realizing how serious this had become. "But I need something to wear…" She thought for a moment. "Ooh! Do you want to go dress shopping with me? Oh, no, you can't see the dress until prom… but maybe I can break that rule. Well I know I'm going to have to wear pink, so you'll have to match. I'll give you the exact shade once I have the dress. Maybe you can wear a pink vest or tie to match… or both! If you need help, my dads can help, it's no problem." Rachel was talking at hyper speed, and Finn laughed, struggling to take it all in at once. "You'll get me flowers, right?"

"Whoa, okay, slow down," Finn laughed again. "I think I can manage this one on my own, Rach. I'll probably get a little help, but that's it. And yeah, we'll see. I think a pink vest would be good. I'm thinking about a bow tie or something. And of course I'll get you flowers. That's a stupid question. If you're going to senior prom, you're going to get the full experience. Pictures, flowers, a corsage… you name it."

Rachel squealed and clapped her hands together excitedly, satisfied with all of Finn's answers. "Yay! I'm so excited, we're going to have so much fun!" She grinned. "Ooh, you're going to have to come over afterwards for some post-prom festivities."

Finn smiled and nodded to her as he pulled up in front of her house. "Okay, but if that includes watching Funny Girl, you can count me out."

Rachel scoffed. "What?! How totally rude. Fine, then. What do you have in mind?"

"Totally_ not_ rude! You've made me sit through that movie at least twenty times." Finn shook his head. "I don't know. I think we should do something when we don't have your dads breathing down our backs."

"It's a classic, Finn. It was nominated for seven Oscars, three BAFTA awards, and—"

"And Barbra won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Fanny, I know. Hey, did you know that when she won her Oscar, all that she said for her acceptance speech was 'Hello, gorgeous?'"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're mocking me, and I don't appreciate it." She said, picking her bag up from off of the floor of Finn's car.

"You know I'm only joking." Finn said, earning a smirk from Rachel in response.

"Back to my dads, you know they'll be away the weekend of prom because they're going to that Broadway cabaret that I got them tickets to for Hanuuka."

"I know." He said simply.

Rachel nodded. "So, you're in charge of food, I'm in charge of decorations and movies that we will both want to watch. Deal?"

"Deal," Finn said, nodding to her as she started to get out of the car. "I'll try my best to bring food that you'll eat this time."

Rachel rolled her eyes playfully. "It's not that hard to find vegan friendly chips, Finn. They have them in aisle four of the Giant supermarket!"

"Yeah, the Giant supermarket that's a half an hour away." He raised his eyebrows at her, and she mockingly did the same in response. "I'll find the chips."

"Thank you," Rachel said gratefully. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Saturday."

"I know what day of the week it is, Finn. I'm going to buy my dress in the morning and then you're going to come over and help plan for our two person party!"

Finn couldn't help but smile. "Alright, just text me."

"I will!" Rachel gave him a thumb's up and closed the car door, running up the pathway and going into her house, waving goodbye. Finn couldn't help but smile at her as he waved back. She was just too cute. He didn't know why, but he got the feeling that prom night was going to be more special than he was expecting.


	2. Falling Slowly

**Hey everyone! I was so excited that ****_you _****were so excited that I was posting that I'm updating again already. So, yay. Tell me what you think and please review! It takes a lot of work to divide these roleplay paras that were already written and turn them into a story, and I hope that it all weaves together nicely. In case you were wondering, I play Rachel in this 1x1 and my friend Jessica plays Finn. We're both really excited that we're turning this into a fanfic and we can't wait to get responses from you guys. Please leave reviews! - Lizzy :)**

**{I don't own Glee! If I did, things would be much different. I also unfortunately do not own the musical Once or the song Falling Slowly}**

_Words fall through me_  
_And always fool me_  
_And I can't react_

Rachel was thrilled about going to prom with Finn, and that was a complete understatement. In fact, she hadn't stopped thinking about it since the day that he'd asked her. The two of them had done practically everything with each other, but being prom dates was not one of them. Just a few days before, she'd found the most beautiful pink dress at the mall. Rachel figured that it would be fine to stray away from prom tradition and try on her dress for him to see what he thought. They were only going as friends anyways, and she had never gone to a formal dance without first getting Finn's opinion on her outfit. Who knew? He was probably good luck. Although he knew almost nothing about fashion, he was always pretty honest when it came to those types of things.

Finn was more than happy to spend some extra time with Rachel, and he was even happier to go to prom with her. Granted, they had a lot of firsts together, and he guessed that prom would be another first for them. He liked sharing all of this with her. It made him feel like even though they were already best friends, they had something else that was individual and special.

When Rachel heard the knock at the door, she made her way downstairs and opened the door with a smile. "Hey! Here, sit on the couch," She said. "Just give me one second." She chimed out in a singsong voice as she shooed Finn into the living room and made a quick trip to the kitchen to grab a bag of pretzels. She ran back to the living room, handed him the snack and then ran up the stairs and then back down again, a large garment bag in hand. "Guess what this is!" She squealed, holding it up to her and spinning around as if she was wearing it already.

Finn raised his eyebrows. "Is it your dress?" He asked her, sitting up a little straighter. "You don't have to show me. I-I mean, I'll see it eventually either way." Finn shrugged, pulling his lips together slightly. Sure, Finn was never really one for following through with the traditional way of things, as if their relationship was no indication of that. "I'm sure you look beautiful in it."

Rachel grinned, doing a little dance as she held the big bag in her hands. "I _do_!" She said with a smile on her face. "Here, I'll go try it on, stay here." She asked, holding up a finger to signify that she wouldn't be too long.

Rachel quickly ran up the stairs and into her room, locking the door out of pure habit. After she took her time taking the dress out of the bag (she didn't want to wrinkle it), she smiled at it and sighed. She wondered what prom was going to be like, she didn't have the chance to go last year because the tickets only came in pairs and no one was interested in going with her. She'd always heard that your senior prom was like your wedding, only better and more expensive. Rachel was determined to make the night perfect.. _different_, no matter what it was going to take.

After she'd put on the dress, she brushed her hair and then spun around, admiring how she looked in it. Rachel slipped into her heels and took her time walking down the stairs, not wanting to fall over. She hobbled back into the living room, trying not to get hurt in her unusually high shoes.

When Finn heard her feet coming down the stairs, he stood up, taking his hands out of his pocket. He was excited about doing this for Rachel. Getting her flowers, getting her a corsage, dressing up in a tux for her and telling her how perfect she looked all night (because he knew that she would).

"What do you think?!" Rachel squealed, spinning around a few more times so that Finn could see the whole thing.

Finn's breath caught in his throat, but he tried not to let her see.

"You look…" He started as she turned around, trying to find the right words. "It looks amazing," Finn finished, smiling over at her.

_Take this sinking boat and point it home_  
_We've still got time_

Rachel grinned, placing her hands over her heart. "Really? Why, thank you." She said, knowing perfectly well how great she looked.

Finn walked towards her and took her hands and put them around his neck. "Practice." He clarified. "Just imagine me in some hot, sexy tux." He joked, looking down at her and putting his arms around her waist.

Rachel laughed and rolled her eyes. "I'm imagining." She moved in closer to him and rested her head on his chest. "You're going to look great, I'm sure, but not as good as me." She joked.

"Finn rolled his eyes playfully at her words. "Oh, of course not. How could I look better than you?" He winked down at her. "We'll be the talk of the night, I promise." Finn said with a smile in his voice. Looking down at their feet, he smirked. "Just promise not to fall or step on my feet with those heels. You'll probably poke a hole through my shoes."

Rachel pulled back just to make sure that her feet were a good enough distance from his. She laughed. "Well it's hard not to step on them when they're so big!" Rachel said, smirking up at him. "I'd take off my shoes, but then I wouldn't even be half the size of you." She was sure that people would talk and spread rumors when they showed up to prom together, but she didn't mind. People always thought that they were dating but it had never seemed to bother her.

"Hey, c'mon, Rach. I like you short. You're the perfect size for me. You fit under my shoulder, not many girls can say that. Not any, really." He told her, chuckling just a little bit.

Finn wasn't the kind of guy to jump from girl to girl and hope to find that kind of relationship he wanted. He really didn't have any girlfriends. Ever. Rachel was that girl that was sort of everything for him. "I promise you, even if you step on my feet or I step on yours fifty million times, we're going to have the best night ever. I haven't been to a lot of dances, but I promise, I'm going to make you the happiest girl in the room." He wanted Rachel to have a wonderful night, and if that meant wooing her and making her feel like a princess all night, he'd have no problem with it at all.

_And games that never amount_  
_To more than they're meant_  
_Will play themselves out_

Rachel squealed again and clapped her hands together. "I'm so excited, you have no idea!" She grinned. If anyone in the entire world could take her to something like prom and make her the 'happiest girl', it would most definitely be Finn. Nobody could make her laugh like he could, he was just too perfect. Her dads were constantly asking her if she was 'lonely' or if she had a 'special someone', but to be perfectly honest, she didn't need any of those things. She had Finn. He was her best friend and he meant everything to her that a boyfriend would mean, therefore there was no room for one anyways. All Finn really tried to do every day was make Rachel the happiest she could be. And if that meant telling her corny jokes until he saw a smile rise on her face, then so be it. Whenever Rachel was sad, he always made sure she was smiling before he left her alone. Finn liked to think of it as his job as her best friend.

"So," Rachel started, clapping her hands together. "Let's start planning for afterwards." She said, moving towards the couch and sitting down, patting the seat next to her to signify for him to come over.

"Planning." He nodded. "Okay."

"Great. I was thinking I could go to Party City and buy decorations just for fun! Do you think that you can handle gathering together a few bags of Doritos and some Oreos and such?"

Finn pursed his lips as he tried to pay attention to everything that she was saying. He nodded to her. "Rach, that's fine with me. Oreos, some chips, your special vegan chips… I got this. Trust me, I can't screw this up. I'll just keep them in my trunk of my car, which will be clean especially for prom, and we can just drive back here."

Rachel smiled and nodded to him, clearly satisfied. She was sure that Finn had everything under control, but still. She had to make sure that everything was perfect. It wasn't just a dance, it was _prom_. It wasn't just prom, either, because it was her senior prom. That made it all the more special. "Okay, okay. I trust you." She smiled, putting her hand over his.

"Then when we get back here… we can just… I don't know. Hang out, watch a movie, sleep." He joked softly, looking down at his lap and back over to her with a small smile.

"Finn," Rachel whined. Sure, coming home and watching a movie sounded great, but that was what they always did. "Come on, it's senior prom! We are not just going to come home, eat pretzels and watch Paranormal Activity 2." She glared at him. "You know that I love you, and I do, but that is just not happening." Of course there was nothing wrong with sticking to tradition, but this wasn't just any old night. This was _prom_. "It's _prom_, Finn." She said with a dramatic tone of voice. "Prom. I want to do something out of the ordinary. We have to come home and play music and break things and scream!" Rachel grabbed his hands and made a pouty face.

Finn sighed dramatically, obviously in a joking manner. Yes, Finn understood that it was senior prom and everything, but he was sure that her dads would kill him if anything happened to their daughter under his watch. Her dads were totally cool with him being around whenever and in her room because, well, if anything were going to happen between them, it would have happened years ago. He had even explained that to them at the start of high school. He just liked being close to Rachel, and he didn't think he should be banned from doing that. There was no chance that there would ever be something more. He didn't think that Rachel would ever allow it even if he wanted to.

_Falling slowly, eyes that know me_  
_And I can't go back_

"I know it's prom, Rachel. I know. Hey, if you want to break into your dad's liquor cabinet and get drunk, I'm totally cool with that, go crazy." Finn responded, defending himself. "It's not like we can do much of anything, Rach. I mean, if you want to go out or stay in or whatever and be completely spontaneous, I can make that happen." He said, sighing. "You know I suck and making up ideas to keep ourselves occupied. I just end up in front of my TV playing video games when I don't know what to do. So unless you want to watch me play Call of Duty on prom night, we kinda have to think."

Rachel frowned and slumped down, leaning her elbows on her knees and resting her head in her hands. "Yeah."

Finn was right, they could do whatever they wanted to, but it didn't sound as fun as she thought that it would. She wasn't entirely sure what Finn meant, because honestly she hadn't been listening to him one bit, but all that she heard from him were the words 'completely spontaneous'. Rachel shot her arms out to the side to signify that she had an idea and that he should stop talking. "You're totally right!" She gasped, turning to face him.

"To be perfectly honest, I didn't get a single word of what you just said. But we need to be spontaneous!"

Finn couldn't help but laugh at her words. "Of course you weren't listening," he cut in.

Ignoring him, Rachel's eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to think of something fun and crazy for them to do. "Come on," She whined. "Help me out here. Think of something spontaneous.." Rachel looked him in the eye with an annoyed look. "Nothing's too crazy, just spit out ideas, just spit them out." She said, whirring her hands about in the air.

Finn could think of a lot of things, but a lot of them were things that he could never imagine Rachel doing. But if nothing was too crazy.. well… "Maybe I can get you drunk enough to make out with me," Finn said seriously, looking over at her.

Rachel quickly turned to look at him with a serious look on her face.

He couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. "Kidding, kidding," He added with a laugh, his body leaning forward slightly. His arm moved comfortably around Rachel, just resting there softly.

"I seriously don't know," Finn said. "There's nothing fun to do here in Lima or anywhere around here. Everyone's just going to some seedy motel after prom." Finn completely wouldn't mind having a drink and lying cuddled up in bed watching TV all night, but he knew Rachel would go out of her mind.

"You know…" She said softly, taking a long pause to think. "That's not necessarily a bad idea." Rachel pursed her lips and stared at Finn, knowing that he must think that she's crazy. She shook her head. "No, no, not the motel idea, the first one." Of course she probably sounded ridiculous, but to her, this all seemed completely reasonable. They'd kissed before; it wouldn't be a big deal if they went a little farther.

Finn furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh." He said quickly. "Yeah." Finn looked over to her again, and he shrugged cockily. "I don't think I need to get you drunk to kiss me." Finn nudged her, a small chuckle leaving his lips.

Rachel rolled her eyes and pushed him back at his comment. "Oh, shut up. I'm being serious here!"

_Moods that take me and erase me_  
_And I'm painted black_

Finn felt kind of awkward… planning when they had to kiss and what not. Sure, their "first" kiss was kind of awkwardly planned, but he didn't think that kisses after that first one should be planned. If they were going to happen, well, they'd happen. "You really want to just… plan a kiss? I mean, I know you're all about planning, Rach… but-" He stopped himself, pursing his lips. Maybe she wasn't so crazy — he guessed that while it was kind of weird, it gave them something to look forward to. "Who knows, maybe the spontaneous thing to do would be to not schedule out the whole night." Finn said quietly, knowing that she could hear him.

Rachel sighed and looked away, knowing deep down inside that he was probably right. She had always been the girl that planned every single solitary moment of her lifetime.

After thinking for a while, she turned her body towards him. "Okay, okay. So... now that I think about it, you're right. That's probably a bad idea. Planning a kiss is stupid, but.. well, planning anything is stupid, really. Especially if we want to do something exciting and outrageous."

"Wait, wait. What was that?" Finn asked dramatically. Rachel immediately rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming. "Did you just say that I'm right? Wow. Hold on, do you think that you could repeat that? I have to get it on tape." She narrowed her eyes at him, but she couldn't help the smile that was spreading on her face.

"Ignoring you," Rachel said, sitting up a bit. "You're right, so let's just pat Finn on the back and decide not to schedule the night. Okay? We can just come home and if either of us happen to have a spontaneous idea, we'll pursue it."

Finn nodded to her, glad that they could agree on something. Realizing she was still in her dress, Finn pursed his lips.

"Are you going to change?" Rachel looked down at her outfit. She'd forgotten that she was still dressed up. "You look really, really great, but I don't want you ruining your dress because of me keeping you busy." Finn took another pretzel, leaning against the couch. His hand moved out from around her, putting it back in his lap. "You know you're really beautiful, right? I mean it." He said honestly, smiling softly. "Even in a random outfit. More people just acknowledge it when you're in a fancy dress."

"Look at that," Rachel smirked. "You're right again! I do know that." She said, smiling, trying to keep the blush off of her cheeks. "Thank you, though."

"You're welcome." Finn smiled at Rachel's bright smile and the blush that settled on her cheeks. He liked seeing her flustered, though she rarely let her guard down that much. Watching Rachel disappear back upstairs and into her room to change, he waited until he heard her door close to get more comfortable, slumping in his seat and putting his feet up on the coffee table with a sigh.

Rachel was taking forever to get changed.

"Come on, Rach." He sang up to her, waiting for her to come back down. "I'll sit through any musical you want me to." And you know, of course, he'd offer his side for her to cuddle up into. It was just their thing.

"Is that a promise?" Rachel yelled down to him.

Finn laughed. "Get these pretzels away from me. I'm going to gain twenty pounds."

"Just a second!" She slipped into the coziest outfit possible and squeezed her feet into a pair of slippers, because it was just that kind of day. Rachel grabbed the Funny Girl DVD from her special drawer that was in her bedside table and made her way back downstairs. "_Any_ of them?!" She teased. "That's what I like to hear." Rachel quickly slid Funny Girl into the DVD player and walked back to the couch to get herself as cozy as possible, putting his arm around her as she leaned into his chest.

"Take these away," Finn said in regard to the pretzels.

"Gladly," Rachel smiled, taking the bag so that she could eat the rest.

As the movie started and Barbra came onto the screen, Finn made a face and pointed at the television. "Who's this chick?" He joked.

"Shut up," Rachel laughed, her mouth full of pretzels.

"Hey, give me some of those," Finn said, reaching for the bag.

Rachel immediately sat up in an attempt to hide it from him. "No way! You said you didn't want them."

"Well, I changed my mind."

"Shhh," Rachel said, shoving the bag into his hands. "She's going to sing soon."

_Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice_  
_You'll make it now_


	3. The Weight Of Us

**Sorry that this took so long. Keep reading and reviewing! Xo, Lizzy**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, nor do I own the fabulous trainwreck that has been season four which is ending this week. I'm ready for the season finale, but I am so not ready. I love to hate to love this show. I also don't own The Weight Of Us (great song, go listen to it).**

_but steady, the rights and the wrongs_  
_invade us, as innocent song_

**_Texts:_**

**Rachel: **Prom is this Saturday at 7:00. You'll be expected to be at my house

promptly at 6:30 for pictures and snacks. Don't forget!

**Rachel: **Oh, how could I forget? I have a tux staring at me in my room pinned with a

sticky note that says 'Saturday!'.

**Rachel:** Yes, I know. I put it there.

**Rachel: **This is also the second time you've told me today, not including the voicemails and the two texts that you sent to my mom.

**Rachel:** I just don't want you to forget anything that you might have to get ready and/or set up beforehand.

**Rachel:** I've already ordered your flowers, Rach. I got it, trust me.

**Rachel:** Great!

**Rachel:** Finn, this is going to be SO much fun! You better look nice, my dads bought

a new camera just for this weekend.

**Rachel: **I will look nice, I promise. Though I'm sure I'll look nothing compared to you. ;)

**Rachel: **Probably not (:

**Rachel: **Just a few more days. It seems like it should be weeks away. After prom, there's barely any time until graduation. I'm not ready yet.

**Rachel: **I know, I don't even want to think about it.

**Rachel:** What are we going to do?

**Rachel: **You're going to go to New York, and I'm going to stay here until I figure out what I'm doing.

**Rachel: **I'm not going anywhere without you.

**Rachel: **You know that I'll force you to go. You're not getting stuck here with me in Lima.

**Rachel: **I don't care what you say. I'm not going without you. You're not staying here, and if you do, I am too.

**Rachel: **I'll literally strap you down to a seat with handcuffs on your way to the city, Rachel. You're not meant for Lima, and New York isn't meant for me. I just... at some point, we're going to have to say goodbye. Even if we don't like it.

**Rachel: **Please don't say that. Please, please, please don't say that. We're not saying goodbye.

**Finn:** Do you think I like saying it? No. I don't want to ever say goodbye. You're my best friend.

**Rachel:** I can't even think about this.

**Finn:** Forget I said anything.

**Rachel:** We can talk about this later, alright? After prom or something.

**Finn:** Yeah, okay. Sure.

**Rachel:** Okay.

**Finn:** No matter what happens after graduation, we're always going to be best friends. That's not going to change. We'll talk and we'll figure it out.

**Rachel:** Do you promise?

**Finn:** I promise.

**Rachel:** But what if you go somewhere and you meet some new girl and she's funnier and cooler than me and she becomes your best friend?

**Finn:** Not possible. You're the only best friend for me.

**Rachel:** Of course you'd say that now, you haven't met her yet.

**Finn:** I think the only way it would be possible is if it was you in disguise or if it was your twin. Seriously, Rachel. I only want you. We have a long time to spend with each other right now. Lets not ruin it, okay?

**Rachel:** Alright.

**Finn: **Thank you.

**Rachel:** Well prom is going to be really fun.

**Finn: **It will be. I'll make it super amazing, just for you. ;)

**Rachel:** I know! I'm so excited!

**Finn:** I just hope everything that I planned and ordered turns out the way I want it. Otherwise prom will totally not be awesome.

**Rachel:** What did you plan?

**Finn:** I can't tell you, it's a surprise.

**Rachel:** Don't be a booger. Tell me!

**Finn:** Nope. You already know two of the three things you're getting, and that's all you're going to know.

**Rachel:** I do...? What are those three things?!

**Finn:** Mhm. A corsage, flowers, and the third thing is a surprise. I'm not going to tell you, even if you bother me about it constantly.

**Rachel:** I am going to bother you about it constantly.

**Finn:** I'm prepared for it.

**Rachel:** Finn, seriously.

**Finn:** Seriously what?

**Rachel:** Tell me!

**Rachel:** Finn

**Rachel:** Finn

**Rachel:** Tell

**Rachel:** Me

**Rachel:** What

**Rachel:** My

**Rachel:** Surprise

**Rachel:** Is

**Rachel:** Right

**Rachel:** Now

**Rachel:** !

**Finn:** No! Never.

**Finn:** Seriously, let me have this one surprise. You'll really like it, I promise.

**Rachel:** Do you *promise* promise?

**Finn:** I promise promise. A promise more intense than a pinky promise.

**Rachel:** Wow, you got me. Okay.

**Finn:** Good.

**Rachel:** Good.

**Rachel:** So, have you bought anything yet to match my dress? I could send you a color palette of what you can and can't wear if that would help.

**Finn:** I already have it all, Rach. As soon as you bought your dress and showed me, I went the next day and got something. It's fine.

**Rachel:** Yay! You're so awesome.

**Finn:** I told you I have everything under control!

**Rachel:** You're great.

**Finn:** I know.

_I'm not ready, I'm not ready_  
_For the weight of us, for the weight of us, for the weight of all of us_

Rachel woke up at quarter of noon on Saturday and got right in the shower. The sooner she showered, the sooner her hair would dry. The sooner her hair was dry, the sooner her dads could do her hair and makeup. It was officially the night of prom, and Rachel was freaking out. She wasn't just over the top excited; she was starting to get nervous. What if the night wasn't as perfectly perfect as she had planned, and what if it didn't live up to her expectations? What then? She was sure that it was going to be amazing, but still. She knew that she just needed to trust Finn and enjoy it. If she was with him, it was implied that she was going to have a great night.

Finn didn't know why he felt so nervous. He didn't want Rachel to have a bad night. In fact, he wanted her to have the perfect senior prom. He wanted her to have the perfect slow dance, the perfect corsage, the perfect… everything. Finn showered and got dressed in his tux in record time, putting on his tie slowly as he looked at himself in the mirror. Putting some gel in his hair, Finn put on a bit of his usual cologne, moving to grab everything that he needed. Putting his phone in his jacket pocket, Finn moved everything to the car, biting his lip. Yeah, he was nervous. He really didn't want to deal with this stupid feeling in his gut, because he knew it was going to ruin him. He just needed to calm down and just think about how Rachel was going to look and how she was going to enjoy everything. When he got to her house, Finn had flowers for Rachel in his hands. Rachel's dads welcomed him in and ushered him to the kitchen. Her dads were always nice to him, and he was so grateful that he wasn't some shady boyfriend, because if Finn was someone new, he was sure that Rachel's dads would be performing a background check on him, and he really didn't need that.

Around three o' clock, Rachel's dads made her hair perfectly wavy and put on sparkly eye shadow. It took them about an hour and a half until they were able to put the finishing touches on her hair and makeup, but when they were done, Rachel felt like a princess. She didn't have a sweet sixteen and she hadn't been to too many formal dances, so this was one of the first times that she had gotten to do something like this. Also, it wasn't just any old dance, it was prom. Rachel was up in her room getting into her dress and putting on her jewelry when she heard Finn downstairs making small talk with her dads. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face when she heard his voice. Rachel didn't know why she felt this way, but she was almost nervous to have Finn see her all dressed up. After slipping into her silver heels (she had to look somewhat taller) and doing some last minute checks in the mirror, she took a deep breath and walked downstairs, a huge smile on her face. When he heard heels on the steps, Finn started walking over to the bottom of the stairs, flowers in hand.

With only a few steps to go, Rachel stopped for a moment to take in everything that she saw. Finn looked good… like, _really_ good. She didn't remember ever seeing him in a tuxedo before, but boy did he look great. She wondered how long it had taken him to get ready. Usually boys didn't take very long to get ready for a dance, at least that's what she'd heard, but she'd never seen Finn looking like this before. She started to wonder if maybe he looked the same as he usually did and she was just seeing him differently. Rachel quickly shook the thought from her head and snapped out of her mini trance.

When he finally saw her, Finn felt his heart jump into his throat, and he smiled up at her. "You look… wow." Sure, he'd seen her in her dress, but this was way, way different. "You look beautiful." He clarified, swallowing the lump in his throat. Finn held out a hand for her to help her down the last few steps and he handed her the flowers in his hands. "These are for you." Finn knew he had some stupid smile on his face, but he really couldn't find it in himself to care. Finn took a step back for a moment, letting his eyes roam over her dress, moving back up to her eyes and smiling softly down at her.

As Rachel walked down the last few steps, she took the hand that Finn had offered to her. She was feeling something that she'd never felt before, but she couldn't even begin to figure out what it was. There was a pit in her stomach and she felt like she was walking on air all at the same time. She looked up at him, realizing that he'd been talking to her and that she'd completely missed his words. Assuming that it was a compliment — because, well, she looked gorgeous — Rachel grinned and thanked him. "Thank you," She murmured quietly, accepting the flowers from him. "You look amazing!" She said, elbowing him in the side playfully.

"Thanks." Finn really didn't think he looked all too great, mostly because he had been fussing over himself for a good amount of the time he was getting ready, and he was just really glad he hadn't gotten himself dirty yet.

Rachel was hoping that she looked much more calm than she felt. Biting her lip, she smiled up at him and squeezed his hands. She turned to pose for some pictures for her fathers and then turned to Finn. "Ready?"

"Oh, wait." Finn immediately remembered, getting his big white box from the side table. Rachel glanced over to him, her eyebrows furrowing together. Finn grabbed the box and opened it, taking out the small white and pink flowered corsage. Her eyes immediately went to the little star in the middle. Her eyes softened and she grinned, looking up at him. He smiled over at her, putting it around her wrist. "I requested that they put a little star on there. Y'know, so it fits you more." This was by far the sweetest thing that she had ever seen in her entire life. It was funny how such a small gesture could make her so speechless.

With a smile, Finn pulled his hands away slowly, clearing his throat. "We can go now, your chariot awaits." He joked, his hand moving to her lower back to guide her out of the house. Rachel turned around to say goodbye to her dads. She gave them each a huge hug and promised them that she would be back by nine, even though the event wouldn't be over until much later and it wasn't like they were going to be home waiting for her when she returned.

A part of him just wanted to be touching her, just wanted to be close to her. Finn took in a deep breath, thanking her dads and reassuring them that she'd be perfectly fine while they went on their trip and that he'd take good care of her. Of course, he was planning on having a good time with her tonight, and Finn was sure that they wouldn't ever have a dull moment.

As Finn led her out of the house, Rachel felt his hand on her back, and for some odd reason it made her feel fluttery inside. She assured herself that it was just the excitement for the night and she ignored it, smiling up at him and putting her arm around his back, holding the fabric of his jacket.

"I made sure to clean my car so your dress doesn't get ruined." He blushed slightly, opening the door to his car for her once they got outside. "I didn't really have any other way of getting here, so, sorry."

She grinned as he opened the door for her. She shook her head in regard to their way of transportation to prom. "Don't worry about it," She said, placing her hands on his chest to reassure him. "It's perfect, thank you." As Finn closed the door and made his way around to the drivers seat, she took a deep breath and tried her best to calm her nerves. Once they were both settled in the car, she nodded to him, buckling her seatbelt. "I'm all ready!" She smiled over to him, holding his hand as he drove. She couldn't help the butterfly feeling in her stomach that only got greater as they pulled up in front of McKinley.

_there's a cold heart, buried beneath,_  
_and warm blood, running deep_  
_secrets - are mine to keep_  
_protected by silent sleep_

Rachel was perfectly happy sitting at the table at prom and watching people walk in and out of the room. As creepy as it sounded, people watching was one of her favorite hobbies. She was kind of in her own little world. She picked up the punch and took a small sip of it, her face immediately scrunching up as she put the glass down. "Whoa, what?" She put her hands over her chest and squinted her eyes shut as she tried to get it down, letting out a cough for dramatic effect once she'd swallowed it. "Either that punch is expired or Noah spiked it already." She had to give him props, usually he didn't show up for anything like this, and if he did he was always really late. If he had gotten there earlier enough to spike the punch before she'd gotten some, then that must have been some real dedication.

Rachel looked up at Finn as he stood up and saw that he was ready to dance. She smiled and stood up, smoothing out the skirt of her dress and making sure that she looked absolutely presentable before they went out towards where everyone was dancing. She smiled and took his hand, walking ahead of him. She grinned and pulled him as far into the middle of the crowd as possible. Rachel was more of a singer than a dancer, but she knew how to dance with other people. Usually she just jumped up and down and spun to the beat of the music, so that's just what she did.

If Finn could keep a rhythm on drums, dancing should be easy, right? Wrong. Dancing was the absolute worst for him, mostly because it felt like he had two left feet. Finn laughed as Rachel made a particularly funny dance move and he just tried to be more awkward to beat her out. Finn was pretty sure he won the non-verbal battle. It seemed like time was flying by, songs seemed to pass in seconds, and Finn was really happy that they were having so much fun. If he had gone with anyone else, it would never be like this.

When the DJ tried to slow the mood down a little, Finn smiled down at Rachel, pulling her close to him in a joking manner. She gave him her hand as she leaned forward to rest her head on his chest. His hands settled around her waist as he pulled her against him. So yeah, maybe a lot of people around him were keeping distances from their dance partner, but when he had Rachel there, what was the point? "Thank you for actually agreeing to come with me." Finn said softly near her ear, a small smile on his lips. He could feel how hot she was through the fabric of her dress from all the exertion of dancing, and it was making Finn even hotter. "It would have never turned out like this. Not with anyone else."

There was something so special about their relationship that Rachel had never been able to put a label on. It was this feeling that she got in her stomach whenever they were feeling extra close to each other, and she was feeling it right then. Not everybody had a friendship like theirs, and she was so happy to have someone like Finn in her life.

"You know that I wouldn't have wanted to go with anybody else," She murmured in a way that only he could hear her. With her arm around his waist, she gently gripped the fabric of his jacket, letting her eyes close. "This is too fun." Rachel smiled. "This is definitely the best night ever." As the song came to an end, Rachel pulled back a little bit to smile up at him. There were only a few more songs after that until the event came to an end, and Rachel was really surprised that it had gone that fast. Still, she knew that their night wasn't nearly over.

Finn averted his eyes away from her as the song changed again, them still moving to the little invisible beat they were encased in. Looking back down to her after a moment, Finn bit the inside of his lip. "Do you want to leave a few minutes early before everyone starts to?" He asked her softly, his eyebrow rose slightly. "I want to give you something when we get home, too." Well, multiple things, Finn was sure. He had one little surprise that was actually something material, and if she loved the corsage, he was sure that she would love this as well.

Rachel could hear Finn talking to her, but she wasn't really listening. Her head was resting on his chest and the way that he was holding her was ridiculously relaxing. They were playing faster music now and everybody else was back to their normal dancing, but she really didn't want to move. After a moment or two, Rachel pulled away from him again and let her brain process what he'd been saying.

"Sure," She smiled. "Ooh! Is this the surprise?!" She joked. She was trying to act calm about it, because she had a habit of getting too excited and then ruining surprises for herself. It happened a lot. She knew Finn better than anyone, and he had a certain way of doing things. No matter what this surprise was, she was bound to love it.

"Part of the surprise," Finn promised her, nodding ever so slightly. He took her hand and moved her away from the center of the crowd, his fingers moving to lace with hers. "Yeah, let's go now and beat the traffic." Rachel reached out to hold his hand as they left the school. The last thing that she wanted to do was to let go of him.

She held his hand as tightly as her tiny hands could allow as she walked out with him towards his car. They'd parked relatively close to the building, so it wasn't that far of a walk. It was only then that Rachel started to realize how much her shoes had been hurting the entire night. Once they got in the car, she took her shoes off and threw them in the back, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Thank God, I don't know how I danced all night in those. You know, it's probably all of that practice in my character shoes. Still, it took me forever to break them in…" She rambled about various things the entire way home, always interrupting herself to talk about another thing before finding her way back to her original subject. Once they were back to her house, she took her shoes out of the back seat and carried them in instead of wearing them. She unlocked the doors and turned on the lights. "Home sweet home." Rachel smiled, turning to him.

_I'm not ready, I'm not ready_  
_for the weight of us, for the weight of us_  
_for the weight of us, for the weight of all of us_

"I know you don't want to sit in that dress all night, let's go get changed." Finn said, moving towards the stairs and walking up to her room with her. He took off his jacket and laid it on her bed, making a face. "It's so hot, I feel disgusting.

"Beauty takes pain," She joked, sighing dramatically. She grabbed a cozy pair of pajamas and started making her way towards her bathroom. "I'll go get changed in the bathroom and you change in here."

Finn nodded, putting his bag of his things on Rachel's bed. Finn waited until Rachel was safe in the bathroom until he changed into his pajamas. He slipped into a pair of plaid pj pants and a plain white t-shirt, running his hands through his hair and looking at himself in the mirror on her dresser. Taking a deep breath, Finn sighed, putting his suit on the hanger and in the bag that he remembered to bring. Once it was on the back of her door, Finn threw his bag on the ground to a place where neither of them would trip over it. Moving to lay back on the bed, he managed a small chuckle at the fact that Rachel was still in the bathroom getting in her pjs. Truthfully, Rachel did spend a lot of time to get ready, but Finn wasn't about to screw up her routine.

Rachel went into her bathroom and did her nightly routine, only skipping the shower. She took her time, rinsing every ounce of makeup off of her face. It was worth it to look beautiful, but it was so not worth it to breakout. After fifteen minutes or so, she slid into her pajamas and left the bathroom to hang up her dress back in the bag that it came in. "All done!" She said, smiling.

"Already? I'm only five years older." Finn sat up a little more in her bed, rubbing his forehead. Patting the space next to him, he yawned, closing his eyes for a minute. "Tonight was awesome, Rach. Seriously. Thanks for going with me." If he had never asked Rachel, Finn would be at home, playing COD wrapped up in a nice blanket, completely bored. This totally beat that.

"What can I say?" She laughed and jumped onto her bed, making herself comfortable. She groaned. "It feels so good to lay down." One of Rachel's favorite things, other than performing, was to lay down in her bed after a really long and exhausting day. Not that prom wasn't worth it, it totally was, but her body was totally and completely done. She smiled. "It was so totally awesome," Rachel giggled. "And you're welcome! I wouldn't have wanted to go with anyone else."

Rachel let them lie like that for a while, but after a few minutes she sat up and hit him repeatedly. "If I lay here any longer I'm going to fall asleep! We have to do something fun." She really didn't have any ideas, but she was sure that Finn would. "Come on," She whined, pulling at his shirt until he sat up. "Think of something really fun that we could do!" She held onto the hem of his shirt and looked up at him with a huge smile.

Finn shrugged. "What time are your parents getting home?" He asked her. "'Cause if they don't keep tabs on the liquor in this house, we could totally make our own fun." Of course, he was mostly kidding, but he'd like seeing Rachel a little out of it. She didn't let loose all too often, and sure, Finn didn't let loose that often either, but he knew he had far more times than her. "I'm_ sure_ that we'd think of our own fun, then. But we can totally watch movies like you wanted to."

"Ooh, that's a great idea!" Rachel had never drank before, but she trusted Finn more than anyone. She wasn't thinking of getting too drunk or anything like that, drinking at all was rebellious enough for Rachel. She rolled her eyes. "No, we are so not just going to sit and watch movies. We're not doing that, that's what we always do."

Pulling herself off of the bed, Rachel stood up and pulled Finn's arms until he was standing too. "Come on, let's go see what we have." She practically dragged Finn down the stairs and brought him to the liquor cabinet that was in living room where the TV was. Rachel opened the doors and bit her lip, not knowing what any of the words on any of the bottles meant. "You can choose, I don't know how."

Finn wasn't really completely expecting Rachel to agree with his idea, so he was pleasantly surprised when she did. Getting up with her off the bed, Finn followed her down the steps and stopped in front of the liquor cabinet, staring at her collection. Finn had been to his fair share of parties for football, even if many of the teammates didn't like him that much. He'd been drunk before, but never extremely drunk. Laughing at her statement, Finn nodded, pursing his lips. He grabbed a bottle of vodka, closing the doors again. He went to her fridge and found some kind of fruity drink that she had, putting both bottles on the kitchen counter. "I could never imagine you drinking this without something added to it. I could just see your face now."

Rachel watched as Finn pulled out a bottle of something that she didn't recognize in the slightest and then followed him to her kitchen. She furrowed her eyebrows together, not understanding why he had to mix it with other drinks. She made a face as she remembered what the spiked punch was like, feeling the taste creep back up into her mouth. She knew that Finn wouldn't give her something that tasted that awful, so she assumed that was why he was pouring some other stuff into the glasses. Rachel smiled at his comment and pushed him playfully. "I could handle it." She bragged with a smile, knowing that she probably couldn't.

Chuckling to himself, Finn added some vodka to the glass and part of the other drink, making sure it was strong, but still… tasty enough that she'd enjoy it. "Have some." He passed the glass over to her, licking his lips as he poured some for himself. He knew that Rachel was bound to be a lightweight, especially because she really didn't drink, so he was sure, that after a few of these drinks, she'd be well on her way to being drunk.

Rachel had never had a drink in her life, and she was pretty positive that before the punch that she'd had earlier at prom, she hadn't ever had as much as one single drop of alcohol. She hadn't read of any severe damage to your vocal cords or anything of the sort, so she figured that it couldn't be that bad as long as she didn't drink too much. She raised her eyebrows at him as he handed her the glass. She pursed her lips and nodded to him before taking a big sip to prove herself. Rachel put her arms out in front of her and took a small step back as the swallowed it, getting a weird tingly feeling in her throat.

"Too strong? Or is it good?" Finn asked her, his eyebrow raised slightly. Finn downed half of his drink quickly, smiling over at her.

"Just too much too fast, I'm fine," She said after a moment, more to assure herself than him. "We should probably sit down."

Finn couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head. Rachel was adorable, and every single little thing she did was so. Finishing up with making his drink, Finn nodded at her words. "Let's go in the living room or something." Finn quickly covered up the fruity drink, putting it back in the fridge, and put a bit more vodka in his cup, closing the top to that as well. Sighing, Finn followed her back into the living room, plopping on the couch and bringing his cup to his lip. "It's not too bad, huh? You'll get used to the taste. It's just kind of bitter for a bit. You won't taste it after a while."

Rachel nodded to FInn and followed him into the living room. Her feet were cold, so as she passed a pair of her slippers, she quickly slid into them and then scurried across the floor to catch up with Finn. She sat down next to him on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest, making herself comfortable. She took another sip of her drink and gave herself a minute before she took another.

Rachel was very picky when it came to what she ate and drank, but she trusted Finn more than anything and she listened to him when he said that she wouldn't notice the bitterness after a while. She didn't talk for a few minutes because she felt like she really needed to focus on getting the drink down. She was trying something new after all.

After another minute or so, Rachel had successfully finished the glass and she was feeling pretty good about herself. She smiled proudly and held up her cup. "One down!" She said, clearly joking. As special as she felt sitting here and drinking with Finn, she didn't want to have too much because she didn't want to ruin the night for herself. It was only a little bit after midnight, and she didn't want to be totally out of it for the rest of the night.

"You alright?" Finn asked with a smile on his face. "You're already getting that cute little flush on your face," Finn chuckled, looking into his own glass.

Rachel nodded to him and handed over her glass, staring at him expectantly.

"..What do you want?"

"More, duh." Rachel said, her voice a little bit higher than usual. Finn laughed to himself and nodded to her.

"Okay, just give me a second." Rachel waited as Finn got up and went to the kitchen. After just a minute, it felt like he'd been gone for hours and he still wasn't back yet. Her head was only a bit fuzzy, but it was fuzzy enough to make Rachel overreact. "Finn, I'm fuzzy!" She shrieked to him from the living room. The expression on her face was nothing if not shocked. She leaned forward a little bit and she had her hands on her knees. She stayed just like that until he was back with another glass for her. "It's a little bit better." She said to him, starting to smile.

Finn managed a laugh at her words. Yes, Rachel had never been drunk before, so needless to say, she was going to freak out when she felt the slightest bit tipsy.

When Finn handed her her cup, she looked at it for a moment and then glanced over at him with a confused expression. "I'm not sure if I want that," She mumbled, staring at her cup for a really long time before taking another big sip. After that, Rachel put the glass onto the coffee table right in front of the couch. She swung her body back and forth as she struggled to swallow it, and once she had, she leaned against the couch, putting her hands on her stomach. "I'm full, I don't want anymore." She groaned and looked at him. "Take it away."

Sure, it didn't taste as bad as Rachel had thought and it made her feel nice, but it didn't matter. Tonight was about enjoying her time with Finn, not getting drunk… as fun as getting drunk may seem. She was sure that they would have plenty of time to have more nights like this in the future. From what Rachel had read, since she hadn't drank that much, the fuzziness that she felt shouldn't last all that much longer. She was content with this because she wanted to be able to remember the fun that they'd had in the morning.

Finn pursed his lips and nodded at her words. "You don't have to drink it. It's not like it's going to get bad." Finn drank most of his glass before he put it back down in front of him, putting his arm around her, fixing her legs so they were over his lap. "I'm surprised that you even got one glass down, Rach." He commented, smirking down at her.

"Hey, I think I did pretty well!" She smiled and pushed him playfully. As Finn was talking, she found herself watching his mouth move instead of actually listening to what he was saying. For a fleeting moment, she felt in her gut that she wanted to kiss him. Like, she _really_ wanted to kiss him. She denied the feeling and convinced herself that it was just the alcohol that was making her feel these things. Rachel brought herself back to reality and smiled, pretending that she was listening to what he was saying.

Finn suddenly found his eyes drifting from her eyes to her lips, clearing his throat and looking away slowly, trying to put his mind back on the right track. "You feel fuzzy?" He asked her with a slight smile, moving his arm more securely around her, his fingers digging in slightly to her side. "I think I could learn to love tipsy Rachel," Finn gave her a small half smile, sighing softly.

She wrapped one of her arms around his back and sat up a bit, bringing their faces closer together. "You think?" Rachel laughed, resting her head on his shoulder and then bringing it back up to look at him. "I think that I could too… just another time." She smiled.

After a moment, she lifted her head back up, only to see that Finn's face was right there. Rachel smiled and tried to ignore any urge to lean forward and kiss him. She stared at his lips until she could feel his hands on her neck. She looked up into his eyes and heard herself sigh. She'd never felt this before, but right then she could feel an instant connection between them. It was more than anything she had ever felt before.

_she time has come, let us be brave_  
_shake off all of your sins, the time has come, let us be brave, let us be brave_

As Rachel pulled her face closer to his, only to rest her head on his shoulder, he thought for sure that she was leaning forward to kiss him. But she wasn't, and Finn let himself take in a deep breath and letting it out slowly as she looked back up to him. Seeing hair being unruly on her shoulder, Finn pushed it off, his fingers running teasingly along the skin of her neck. His eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips and back up again, licking his lips ever so lightly.

"Can I give you part one of your surprise?" Finn asked softly, his hand moving to tangle in her hair softly.

"Sure," Rachel said, her voice quiet and breathless.

So maybe Finn was planning on overstepping a bit. Maybe he shouldn't have joked about kissing her when they tried to plan everything what seemed like so long ago, because now that very idea was stuck in his head. He felt his heart skip a few beats as he heard her words, and honestly, he wasn't too sure if she understood exactly what he was asking. But regardless, he wasn't going to leave her hanging. He just smiled at her words, sucking in a soft breath as his eyes met hers. He found himself second guessing himself for a moment, not too sure that he should even being doing this. After all, it could ruin them completely, right? This little kiss could ruin their relationship in just a few seconds.

_the time has come, let us be brave_  
_shake off all of your sins, the time has come, let us be brave, let us be brave_

But regardless of that inner voice trying to stop him, Finn couldn't help but lean forward and capture her lips in his. Finn let his hands tangle in her hair further, his head tilting towards hers, moving his lips against hers. Maybe this felt like way more than it should, but Finn couldn't find himself wanting to pull away.

Rachel was as surprised as one could possibly be. She was feeling a million feelings at once and thinking too many different thoughts. Was this the surprise? Was this a joke? Was he teasing, or did he really want to kiss her? This was definitely sobering her up and bringing her back to reality.

Rachel decided to stop overthinking the situation and she let her eyes close as he kissed her. She leaned forward a bit, placing her hand on his cheek. She didn't know what was going on or what was going to happen later, but right then, Rachel didn't care at all.

She moved her hands to place them both on his chest. She sat up a bit more and moved her lips against his, making fists with the fabric of his shirt. She did not understand what was happening, and she didn't know how something so weird could feel so good and so right. In that moment, Rachel didn't think that she would ever want to stop kissing him. Still, she kept trying to bring herself back so that she could try and make sense of the situation, but a part of her didn't want to understand it. She slowly pulled away for just a moment and looked at him, but she didn't say anything.

Finn just looked at Rachel as she pulled away, the sight of her like this, next to him, making his mind (and heart) run a mile a minute. "Rach-." She looked into his eyes and then closed hers, leaning forward to kiss him again.

_let us be brave_

**_Stay tuned..._**


End file.
